Britain and the United States on Tuesday sanctioned a Southeast Asia-based multinational network accused of operating large-scale online 'scam centres' in Cambodia that used trafficked workers to defraud victims around the world.
The British government said the centres, located in Cambodia, Myanmar and across the region, used fake job adverts to lure workers who were then forced to commit online fraud under threat of torture.
This included luring victims into fake romantic relationships before persuading them to invest large sums into fraudulent cryptocurrency platforms.
"The masterminds behind these horrific scam centres are ruining the lives of vulnerable people and buying up London homes to store their money," said British foreign minister Yvette Cooper.
Britain's sanctions targeted six entities and six individuals, including Prince Group's chair, Chinese-Cambodian tycoon Chen Zhi, who the US and UK accused of having overseen the construction of compounds used for online scams.
Meanwhile the US government has seized more than US$14 billion in bitcoin and charged the founder of a Cambodian conglomerate in a massive cryptocurrency scam, accusing him and unnamed co-conspirators of exploiting forced labor to dupe would-be investors and using the proceeds to purchase yachts, jets and a Picasso painting.
In an indictment unsealed Tuesday, Brooklyn federal prosecutors charged Prince Holding Group chairman Chen Zhi with wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy.
Chen, 38, is accused of sanctioning violence against workers, authorizing bribes to foreign officials and using his other businesses, such as online gambling and cryptocurrency mining, to launder illicit profits.
Chen was the “mastermind behind a sprawling cyberfraud empire," Assistant Attorney General John Eisenberg said. US Attorney Joseph Nocella called it “one of the largest investment fraud operations in history.”
At one point, prosecutors said, Chen bragged that the so-called “pig butchering” scam was pulling inUS $30 million a day.
Last year, Americans lost at least US$10 billion to Southeast Asia-based scams, a 66% increase from 2023, the Treasury Department said, calling Prince Holding Group a “dominant player” in that space.
Chinese authorities have been investigating the company for cyber scams and money laundering since as early as 2020, according to court records reviewed by the US Institute of Peace.
Chen, a native of China who is also known as “Vincent,” remained at large as of Tuesday, prosecutors said. If convicted, he faces up to 40 years in prison. If a court allows, the US could use the 127,271 bitcoins it seized to repay victims.
The value of the coins — currently around US$113,000 each — will continue to fluctuate in the meantime.
Messages seeking comment were left for Prince Holding Group spokesperson Gabriel Tan. The company’s website says it “adheres to global business standards.”
A spokesperson for the Cambodian government, Pen Bona, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Jacob Daniel Sims, a transnational crime expert and visiting fellow at Harvard University’s Asia Center, said that Prince Holding Group is “an essential part of the scaffolding that makes global cyber-scamming possible," and Chen is a “central pillar” of the criminal economy intertwined with Cambodia’s ruling regime.
Chen has served as an adviser to Prime Minister Hun Manet and his father, former Prime Minister Hun Sen, and was honored with the title “neak oknha” — equivalent to an English lord.
“While the indictment and sanctions don’t instantly dismantle these networks, they fundamentally change the risk calculus,” Sims said.
They make "every global bank, real estate firm and investor think twice before touching Cambodian elite money.”
Last year, the US and UK imposed sanctions on Ly Yong Phat, one of Cambodia’s richest men and a leading member of the ruling Cambodian People’s Party, after he was implicated in allegations of forced labor, human trafficking and online scams.
According to Chen’s indictment, Prince Holding Group built at least 10 compounds in Cambodia where workers — often migrants held against their will — were forced to contact thousands of victims through social media or online messaging platforms, build rapport and entice them to transfer cryptocurrency with hopes of big investment returns.
In reality, prosecutors said, it was a swindle. The money, they said, was funneled into other Prince Holding Group businesses and shell companies and used to pay for things like luxury travel and entertainment, watches, vacation homes, rare artwork and even a Rolex watch for an executive’s spouse.
One victim was scammed out of more than US$400,000 in cryptocurrency, prosecutors said.
